Voltaic battery operated with fused materials.



No. 650,274. Patented May 22, I900.

. Q w. s. RAWSDN. v

VOLTAIO BATTERY OPERATED H FUSED MATERIALS.

ration filed Jun 1 (No Model 2 $haeta-Sheat I.

wz'fflesses I Zhrehfar la/17511901108 I It! V Z'zl I 71 X? a 1 19 fl-iiaryrav' T T W. S. BAWSONL VOLTAIC BATTERY OPERATED WITH FUSED'MATEBIALS.

(Appliration filed June 19, 1899.) (No M d l.) 7 2 eeeee s-Shee; 2.

Patented May 22, I900".

UNITED 'ST TEs PATENT.- OFFICE.

Writ-taut STEPNEY RAWSON, or LONDON, ENGLAND; V

vo LTAic BATTERY OPERATED WJIH. Fuis'eotmAr-smms.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,274, ated m 22, 1906.

Application filed June 19,1899. Serial N 721,141. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S'rurNEY RAWsON, acitizen of England, residing at -21 Greycoat Gardens, estminster, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Voltaic Batteries Operating with Fused Materials, (for which I have applied for a patent in Great Britain, dated November 22, 1898, No. 24,570,) of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to voltaic batteries of that class in'which electricity is generated by the oxidizing action of a'fused 'salt upon a molten metal or alloy separated from it by a porous pot or diaphragm, such-oxidized metal oralloy being continuously or intermittently reduced by. means of carbonaceous gas or vapor and the salt beingrecupera'ted by the action of oxygen or. air'forced into it. In order that the chemical actions may take place,

the metal or alloymust be kept at a high.

temperature. \Vhen lead is used, this temperature is as high as 1,850 Fahrenheit. Hitherto this temperature has been main tained by applying external heat to a metal vessel containing the molten metal. Such a method is very wasteful of heat and has other drawbacks, one of which is the dilficultyof' regulating the heat so as to keep the temperature within the limits required by the nature of thesalts. i

This invention has for its object the economical production and retention as well as the easy regulation of the heat required and the apparatus. For'lhe in any-0f the in addition the dealing with the products'of combustion so as to economically utilize the heat which theycontain when theyissue from purpose of retaining the heat, or, inother words, to check radia lion the cell is constructedas I shall describe. Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 is a'plan, of a cell according to my invention. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a cell, and Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of a group of four cells in one-structure. The cellis built of magnesia bricks free from silica when lead is used, and it is lagged well-known ways.

i The cell a is provided with a portg, through which combustible gets-suchas water-gas, coal-gas, prod ricer-gas, petroleum, or

- without other i carbonaceous der pressure.

. rate port hinay also be introduced under pressure a supply of oxygen or compounds containing oxygen, such vas air or steam;

which combining with the combustible mate'- 1 rial produces in the molten metal 0.1 alloy the necessary heat to maintain the temperature. It has been found out by experimentthat in the case of easily-oxidizable metals -for in stance, lead, antimony, or their alloys-which are suitable for batteries of this type the'com bustion of the air is perfect, so that-the units of heat produced can be exactly regulated by the amount of air forced through, the combustible material being always somewhat in excess to prevent'oxidation ofthe metal. In

the closed cover 0 of the cell an outlet-pipe i is provided for the products of combustion.

The porous pct 22, which -is preferably of magnesia, is closed through which pass let-pip e Z for air. The pot b is made from a paste consisting of magnesia with aqueous solution of boric acid molded and baked at an exceedingly-high temperature to a bright white heat. tom of the porous ot, which contains the fused salt, and the o tlet-pipe Zstarts above the level of the fused salt. Salts suitable for this purpose are those highly-oxidized salts which are capable of parting with oxygen being reduced to'th'e metal1icstatefor instance, a mixture-0f potassium bichromate, chromium sesquioxid, and caustic potash or soda, with or porous pot b is suitably kept in position on the bottom of the cell and is kept from rising out of the molten lead bythe coyer c of the cell, which is perforated to allow the air-pipes to pass through it. The inlet-pipej, preferably of wrought-iron, has horizontal branches 7:: extending along the bottom of the porous-- put, these branches being tightly with a cover f,. an inlet-pipej and out The inlet-pipe j dips to the bot-.

without lead oxid. The

- s PQrforated wit -u. holes to subdivide the air-stg m 'It may,

be employed as one electrode of th' cell. The

other electrode is an iron plate or pair of plates m, immersed in the lead and having conducting-limbs n. I j

The electromotive force of the current generated three-tenths volts,

by this battery is from-one to one and according to thetemperav fewer;

ture. The output of the battery'isfabout forty watts per square foot of the immersed surface of the porous pot.

and the metal under pressure together with maintain the the amount of air necessary to temperature. During the working of the cell may rise beyond the desirable point;

" molten metal may be applied'to heat the en-' tering air; but I prefer to deal with the prod note from ing thecase of waterrgas as the combustible steam, and nitrogen.

air is'blown through themolten salt and combustible gas or vapor is blown through the lead. As the action of the cell is such as to roduce a certain amount of heat by the re-' duction of the metallic oxid, the temperature In this case an excess of air beyond that actually re- -quired to regenerate the salt is forced in, so as" to cool the salt. As both thecombustible gasandthe air mustbe' supplied in proportion to the output of the cell, the pumps which.

supply them under pressure may conveniently bevdriven by an electric motor, through the armature of which current of the cell passes, so that the speed of the pump may vary directly with the'output of the cell.

products from the porous pot and from the the molten metal as follows: Takemplo yed, this, as is well known, contains hydrogen, carbon monoxid, and a small-amount of nitrogen. .Afterpassing ihroughthe moiten lead the products-would-be carbon dioxid,

I take these products to the gas-generator and pass them over the red-hot coke instead of the steam which is generally employed. 'The'carbon dioxid is thus converted into carbon monoxidand the steam is decomposed tohydrogen and oxygen, 7

which latter, taking up carbon, produces car- 'nected, they may conveniently be separated The heated The advantage gained by this method is that the cost of raising steam is 5 saved and the heat of the products of chmbustion from the molten lead is fully utilized.

bon monoxid.

As the volume of the products is doubled by combination with the carbon, half the volume must be allowed to pass away.

Instead of the single pot several pots with the necessarypi-pe's and accessories may be arranged in one cell. 7

\Vhen a group of coils are electrically conby partitions in one structure, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the loss of heat by radiation is reduced to a. minimum. V Ashalf the volume of'comb ustion products has to be discharged, it is convenient to connect the pipes 2' of the first, third,and o ther odd cells to the generator and those of the second, fourth ,and other even cells to a chimney, suitable valves or dampers being provided for alternating or connecting the fines as may be desired;

Having thus described the nature of this-invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into practical cfiect, I claim- The method of supplying heat to a voltaic battery operating with fused materials, one of which is oxidizablc, which consists in in troducin'g combustible-gas or vapor with a rcgulaie'd'qnantity of oxygen, into the oxidizable and partly-oxidized material, efiecting 75 incomplete combustion within the cell and thereby heating and deoxidizing the material I 7 through which the gas or vapor passes.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 8o n'esses.

' a WIL'hi AM S'IEPNEY RAWSON.

Witnesses; i

GERALD L. SMITH,

WALTER J ."SKERTEN. 

